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Science 1 May 1992:
Vol. 256. no. 5057, pp. 649 - 651
DOI: 10.1126/science.256.5057.649
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Articles

Colloid Formation During Waste Form Reaction: Implications for Nuclear Waste Disposal

J. K. Bates 1, J. P. Bradley 2, A. Teetsov 3, C. R. Bradley 1, and M. Buchholtz ten Brink 4

1 Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439
2 MVA Incorporated, 5500 Oakbrook Parkway, No. 200, Norcross, GA 30093
3 McCrone Associates, Incorporated, 850 Pasquinelli Drive, Westmont, IL 60559
4 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Post Office Box 808, Livermore, CA 94550

Insoluble plutonium- and americium-bearing colloidal particles formed during simulated weathering of a high-level nuclear waste glass. Nearly 100 percent of the total plutonium and americium in test ground water was concentrated in these submicrometer particles. These results indicate that models of actinide mobility and repository integrity, which assume complete solubility of actinides in ground water, underestimate the potential for radionuclide release into the environment. A colloid-trapping mechanism may be necessary for a waste repository to meet long-term performance specifications.

Submitted on October 28, 1991
Accepted on February 11, 1992


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Underlying Yucca Mountain: The Interplay of Geology and Policy in Nuclear Waste Disposal.
A. MacFarlane (2003)
Social Studies of Science 33, 783-807
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